United States Department of Agriculture • Forest Service The USDA Forest Service— The First Century ss ss ss s s s s s s s s s s s CENTENNIAL s s s s COMMEMORATIVE s s EDITION s s s s 1905-2005 s s s s s s s s s s THE USDA FOREST SERVICE — THE FIRST CENTURY by Gerald W. Williams, Ph.D. Historical Analyst Slightly revised April 2005 FS-650 USDA Forest Service Office of Communication Washington, DC The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activi- ties on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, or marital or family status. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.) Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for communication of program information (Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact USDA’s TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TDD). 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Table of Contents Introduction ........................................................................................................1 The Beginning Era of Concern About Natural Resources, 1873-1905 .................2 The Visionaries ...........................................................................................3 Federal Involvement in Forestry .................................................................5 The Forest Reserve Act of 1891 ...................................................................8 The National Forest Commission of 1896 ...................................................8 The Organic Act of 1897 ...........................................................................10 The Early Forest Service Organization Era, 1905-1910 .....................................17 The Establishment of the Forest Service in July 1905 ................................17 Land Frauds ..............................................................................................24 New Forest Reserves .................................................................................25 Decentralization ........................................................................................26 Forest Service Research .............................................................................29 The Forest Protection or Custodial Management Era, 1910-1933 ...................31 Forest Products Laboratory and Research ..................................................35 Recreational Developments .......................................................................42 Railroad Land Grants ................................................................................47 World War I and Aftermath .......................................................................47 Timber Sales .............................................................................................53 Recreation and Wilderness ........................................................................56 The Great Depression Era, 1933-1942 .............................................................66 Civilian Conservation Corps .....................................................................66 Shelterbelt Project .....................................................................................71 Wilderness ................................................................................................76 Timber Salvage of 1938 .............................................................................78 Smokejumping and National Defense .......................................................79 The War Years, 1942-1945 ...............................................................................81 The Sustained-Yield Forest Management Act of 1944 and Sustained-Yield Units .................................................................82 Smokey Bear .............................................................................................83 The Postwar Development Era, 1946-1959 .......................................................88 Timber Management .................................................................................88 Research Builds .........................................................................................93 Forest Protection .......................................................................................93 New Specialists and Land..........................................................................94 Mining ......................................................................................................97 Recreation and Timber Demands ............................................................100 The USDA Forest—The First Century ■ i The Fully Managed, Multiple-Use Forest Era, 1960-1970 ...............................102 Multiple-Use Sustained-Yield Act of 1960 ...............................................102 Work Programs .......................................................................................107 Wilderness and Wild and Scenic Rivers Acts ...........................................108 Using Litigation To Settle Disputes With the Forest Service .....................111 The Environmentalism and Public Participation Era, 1970-1993 ....................112 National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 ............................................112 Controversies Over Clearcutting .............................................................114 Youth Conservation Corps, Young Adult Conservation Corps, and Related Programs .....................................................................117 National Forest Volunteers ......................................................................120 RARE and RARE II ..................................................................................121 Endangered Species Act of 1973 .............................................................121 National Forest Planning .........................................................................122 Internal Struggles ....................................................................................129 Owls and Other Wildlife .........................................................................133 Yellowstone Fire in 1988 .........................................................................137 Development of Partnerships ..................................................................138 International Forestry .............................................................................139 Ecosystem Management and the Future Era, 1993-Present ............................143 Changes in the National Forests—Over 100 Years of Progress .......................149 Summary - 100 Years and More of National Forests .......................................154 Further Reading ..............................................................................................156 Chiefs of the Forest Service: Gifford Pinchot—First Chief of the Forest Service, 1905-1910 .................14 Henry S. Graves—Second Chief, 1910-1920 ............................................34 William B. Greeley—Third Chief, 1920-1928 ...........................................52 Robert Y. Stuart—Fourth Chief, 1928-1933 ..............................................64 Ferdinand A. Silcox—Fifth Chief, 1933-1939 ...........................................70 Earle H. Clapp—Sixth Chief, 1939-1943 ..................................................79 Lyle F. Watts—Seventh Chief, 1943-1952 .................................................82 Richard E. McArdle—Eighth Chief, 1952-1962 ........................................94 Edward P. Cliff—Ninth Chief, 1962-1972 ...............................................105 John R. McGuire—Tenth Chief, 1972-1979 ............................................119 R. Max Peterson—Eleventh Chief, 1979-1987 ........................................128 F. Dale Robertson—Twelfth Chief, 1987-1993 ........................................132 Jack Ward Thomas—Thirteenth Chief, 1993-1996 .................................146 Mike Dombeck—Fourteenth Chief, 1997-2001 ......................................147 Dale N. Bosworth—Fifteenth Chief, 2001-present ..................................153 ii ■ The USDA Forest—The First Century Special Topics Arthur H. Carhart and the Boundary Waters Canoe Wilderness ................60 Caribbean National Forest—First in the Western Hemisphere ..................15 Civilian Conservation Corps (1933-1942) ................................................67 Clearcutting on the National Forests .......................................................115 Ecosystem Management ..........................................................................145 Forest Fires and Firefighting .....................................................................31 Forest Products Laboratory—Madison, Wisconsin ....................................36 Forest Service Badges and Patches .............................................................21 Forest Rangers ..........................................................................................19 Grazing on the National Forests ................................................................74 Hallie M. Daggett—Woman Lookout ........................................................51 International Forestry .............................................................................140